UpdateWindows – Take Control of Windows Updates from the Command Line

Keeping Windows systems up to date is essential—but not always transparent or easy to automate. Which updates are installed? Which ones are missing? Which cumulative update (LCU) is actually active on a system? And what exact OS build is running on that machine?

To solve these problems, I built UpdateWindows.exe — a lightweight .NET Framework 4.8.1 console tool that gives you full visibility and control over Windows Updates and system patch level.

This post walks you through what the tool does, how it works, and how you can use it in your daily admin or DevOps workflow.

🚀 What is UpdateWindows?

UpdateWindows.exe is a command-line utility that can:

List installed updates
List cumulative updates (LCUs) with detailed metadata
Provide a combined “full” view of all update types
List installed drivers delivered via Windows Update channels
Show Microsoft Edge update history and version timeline (new)
Display detailed OS information (build, version, hardware)
Search for available updates
Download and install updates
Generate structured HTML reports
Optionally enrich metadata via the Microsoft Update Catalog

It is designed for:

System administrators
DevOps engineers
IT auditors
Power users

🧠 How it works (under the hood)

The tool combines several Windows technologies and data sources:

Installed Updates (normal list)

Windows Update Agent (WUA) COM API
WMI class Win32_QuickFixEngineering

Cumulative Updates (LCU)

Component Based Servicing (CBS) package store (registry)
Local servicing manifests (.mum files)

Drivers

Windows Update Agent (WUA) driver query (Type='Driver')
Update service mapping (channel identification such as WSUS/WU/DCat)
History fallback with bounded scan and metadata extraction

Edge Update History (new in 1.4.0.0)

EdgeUpdate log files (%ProgramData%\Microsoft\EdgeUpdate\Log\MicrosoftEdgeUpdate.log*)
WUA installed updates filtered for Edge entries
Consolidated timeline combining both local EdgeUpdate logs and WU/WSUS-based installs

Operating System Information (-OSInfo)

Registry (CurrentVersion, BuildLabEx, UBR, etc.)
WMI (Win32_ComputerSystem, hardware info)

Optional Online Metadata (-Resolve)

Microsoft Update Catalog
Microsoft Support pages

Online activity only happens when explicitly requested with -Resolve.

⚙️ Important behavior notes

Some key design rules ensure predictable behavior:

Running without parameters shows help
-Full is an alias for -Updates -CU -Drivers -Edge
-Resolve only affects installed updates and CU metadata
-Search and -Install operate only on not installed + not hidden updates
-CU is completely independent from WUA and uses CBS metadata
When -HTML is used, table output is written to file (console shows only debug if -Dbg is enabled)

🔍 Core Features

1. List Installed Updates

List installed updates using WUA and WMI:

UpdateWindows.exe -Updates

Resolve human-readable titles:

UpdateWindows.exe -Updates -Resolve

2. Analyze Cumulative Updates (LCUs)

Inspect installed cumulative updates directly from CBS:

UpdateWindows.exe -CU

With release month and OS/build metadata:

UpdateWindows.exe -CU -Resolve

3. Inspect Installed Drivers

You can list drivers delivered via Windows Update channels:

UpdateWindows.exe -Drivers

The output includes:

KB
InstalledOn
Source channel (WU/WSUS/DCat etc.)
Class
Provider
Version
Title

4. Inspect Edge Update Timeline (New)

You can now inspect Microsoft Edge update history:

UpdateWindows.exe -Edge

This builds a complete Edge version timeline from:

local EdgeUpdate logs
Edge updates delivered via Windows Update / WSUS

The output includes:

When
Source
Channel
Version
Event
File

5. Full Update Overview

You can get a combined view of all update types:

UpdateWindows.exe -Full

With resolved metadata:

UpdateWindows.exe -Full -Resolve

This unified report now merges:

Installed updates
Cumulative updates
Installed drivers
Edge update history entries

The full view now includes additional columns:

Class
Provider

and is sorted strictly by installation date (newest first).

6. Operating System Information

A dedicated system information block can be included:

UpdateWindows.exe -OSInfo

7. Search for Available Updates

List updates that are not installed and not hidden:

UpdateWindows.exe -Search

8. Install Available Updates

Automatically install available updates:

UpdateWindows.exe -Install

9. Generate HTML Reports 📄

All output modes support HTML reporting.

You can optionally provide a target file path:

UpdateWindows.exe -Full -Resolve -OSInfo -HTML C:\Reports\update.html

The <path> argument supports environment variables and wildcards, for example:

UpdateWindows.exe -Full -Resolve -OSInfo -HTML %Temp%\%COMPUTERNAME%-Report.html

If you omit the path and use only -HTML, the tool will automatically create a temporary HTML report in %TEMP%.

You can also open the report automatically:

UpdateWindows.exe -Full -Resolve -OSInfo -HTML -Open

HTML reports now also include a metadata line documenting the exact command line switches used to generate the report.

🌐 Online Metadata (Optional)

Online metadata is enabled with:

-Resolve

This will:

Replace generic KB titles
Determine CU release month
Consolidate OS version/build information

Driver and Edge modes focus on local metadata and update channel visibility.

🛠️ Common Use Cases

🔧 Full System Audit

UpdateWindows.exe -Full -Resolve -OSInfo -HTML %Temp%\%COMPUTERNAME%-system.html -Open

🛡️ Verify Patch Level

UpdateWindows.exe -CU -Resolve

🧩 Inspect Driver Delivery Channels

UpdateWindows.exe -Drivers

🌐 Inspect Edge Update Timeline (New)

UpdateWindows.exe -Edge

🔄 Automated Maintenance

UpdateWindows.exe -Install -HTML %Temp%\install.html

🔎 Identify Missing Updates

UpdateWindows.exe -Search

🧩 Parameter Overview

Parameter	Description
`-Updates`	Lists installed updates (WUA + WMI)
`-CU`	Lists cumulative updates from CBS
`-Drivers`	Lists installed drivers delivered via update channels
`-Edge`	Shows Edge update timeline from logs and WU/WSUS
`-Full`	Combined view of updates, CUs, drivers and Edge
`-OSInfo`	Outputs system and OS information
`-Resolve`	Resolves titles and CU metadata online
`-Search` / `-Scan`	Searches for available updates
`-Install`	Downloads and installs updates
`-HTML [<path>]`	Writes HTML report (optional path, defaults to temp file)
`-Open`	Opens HTML report in browser
`-Dbg`	Enables debug output
`-Help` / `-?`	Shows usage information

💡 Final Thoughts

UpdateWindows.exe has evolved into a powerful inspection and automation tool for Windows patch management.

Key strengths:

Clear and scriptable CLI
Accurate CBS-based LCU detection
Unified full inventory including drivers and Edge
Built-in OS build and hardware info
Optional online enrichment
Fully offline capable
Clean HTML reporting for audits

Whether you’re managing a single machine or thousands of endpoints—UpdateWindows gives you full transparency into your Windows update, driver and Edge state.

🆕 What’s new

Version 1.4.0.0

Version 1.4.0.0 introduces Edge update visibility and report quality improvements.

Highlights:

New -Edge mode providing a full Edge update timeline from local logs and WU/WSUS installs
-Full report extended to include Edge history entries
Improved console output with unified installed-update banner and consistent counters
HTML reports now include command-line metadata headers for better traceability

Version 1.3.0.0

Version 1.3.0.0 introduces driver transparency and consolidated reporting enhancements.